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Sunday, 25 January 2015

Who Will Win The 2015 African Cup of Nations?

byWill Pearson

(source: Zimbio)

This month will bring us one of the best under-the-radar
tournaments in football, as the Africa Cup of Nations begins its three-week run
through Equatorial Guinea. It’s also a tournament that has its fair share of
haters. For one thing, like the Asian Cup, it takes African players away from
their club teams for a good spell of time. In the Premier League, that means
neitherYaya Tourenor Sadio
Mane for nearly a month. It’s also been in the headlines for the wrong reasons,
as Morocco pulled out of its hosting dutiesdue to fears of Ebola. Despite its bad
press, at its core is free-flowing football that often provides thrilling
moments.

There have been 30 AFCON tournaments
since 1957 (which was won by Egypt and had just four teams contesting the
title). Since then, there have been 16 winners, with Egypt topping the charts
with 7 wins. Several big names are still to win the cup, including Senegal and Mali,
both of whom will feel that this could be their year. Online polls reveal that
Algeria is the predicted winner, followed closely by Cameroon and Ivory Coast.

The draw for the 30th edition of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
was held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on Wednesday, as the 16 squads that qualified
for the tournament finally found out the teams they'll be facing. The draw
was moved back one week to accommodate new host, Equatorial Guinea, which stepped
in to replace Morocco. Defending champions Nigeria are one of many top
squads that failed to qualify for next year's event, with Egypt and Angola also
surprisingly absent.

Group A (Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Congo) seems to
be a fairly close group, with no big names set to dominate proceedings. Group B
(Zambia, Tunisia, Cape Verde, DR Congo) is similar, and is difficult to call,
as it contains many of the smaller nations. The real competition however, lies
in Groups C and D. Group C in particular holds Ghana (one of the most
successful African teams), Algeria (touted as the eventual winners by many),
South Africa (whose undefeated qualifying campaign has given them a strong
contention), and Senegal (yet to win the cup and fielding arguably their
strongest team yet). Group D is no less competitive, with two of Africa’s most
successful teams, Ghana and Ivory Coast, playing against Mali and Guinea.

Generational change will be a big factor for Ivory
Coast, who head into a major tournament without talismanic striker Didier
Drogba for the first time in a decade. The Chelsea man enjoyed
great success at the Cup of Nations, racking up 11 goals and being named in the
team of the tournament in 2006, 2008 and 2012. Yet for all his efforts – and
for all the bluster around their so-called golden generation – the Elephants
have been frustrated in their efforts to secure an AFCON crown. With Wilfried
Bony in their ranks, the Ivory Coast will not be short on firepower, but
Drogba's leadership qualities are likely to be missed.

The African Cup of Nations has never been so closely contested,
as more and more African teams are emerging as major players on the world
stage. As young players are scouted by big teams and veterans of the AFCON
look to add to their medal collection, 2015 could certainly be the year in
which the competition gets the attention it deserves, with the world eagerly anticipating
who will become champions.